The amazing thing to me is that this might be the single largest and most profitable product launch. I haven't taken apart Apple financials, but I saw they got $600 a phone a few quarters ago, meaning the full price versus the carrier subsidized price we pay. Since I can't break out the 5's sales from the others, I don't know how many of the 100 million plus iPhones sold over the next year will be 5's. But look at the number: $600 * 100 million. And then think of Apple's profit margin, which something like $200-300 per phone, though I don't know if that's pure hardware cost and not including G&A, R&D, etc. If we guess at nearly $200 net profit per phone, that's a ridiculous number.

My first thought was the Model T. It sold for years and the value in that built the largest industrial corporation in the world along with maybe US Steel and Standard Oil, which both had antitrust problems. But the Model T wasn't one model and changed much like the iPhone has. So considering one versus the other, it would be neat to adjust to current dollars.

What can I say we really expected something spectacular. But I do remember how it was with 4S. Everybody was disappointed and yet still they swtiched their 3g/4 to 4S. So I think it is going to be the same. There are too many people ready to borrow money for a short term in order to get a brand new Apple device. Where is the logic? And the answer is: We like fancy stuff.

To be fair, it's still a great phone and a noticeable improvement over iphone4. I'll probably get one when my contract gives me a discount. Not because I'm super-wowed, but because I've been investing in iTunes and iOS apps on my devices for a few years now. The "ecosystem" is kind of a trap, I'm not too proud to admit. However, that doesn't make it a bad product. So long as their products continue to work and my old apps are still compatible, I'll likely continue to use iOS devices.

Of course, the lack of innovation is disappointing. For Apple to become "just another company" is a sad thing to see. However, it is something everyone had predicted since Jobs contracted his terminal illness. The, unfortunately, has been the first real display of how much his loss is hurting the company.

Here we go again. Every time Apple releases something new, everyone crawls out from under their rocks and starts trash talking Apple. Those of us who have been Apple customers long before the first iPhone have seen it all before. What I find hilarious in reading articles and comments like these is how utterly ignorant people are about the nature of Apple's true success.

Apple INVENTED the smartphone in a market where phone manufacturers were practically giving away those crappy WAP phones, and would STILL be, if it were not for Apple. You should be thanking the Big Apple in the sky that you have the option to choose to buy ANY smartphone. Because the likes of Google, Samsung, and the host of other companies out there would have NEVER invented it on their own. And they really aren't making any breakthroughs even now. They're just trying to keep up by tweaking this or that little feature. So go ahead and sing praises to mediocre also-rans. I know, they're cheaper. I guess that's all you can afford.

Apple is crushing the smartphone market, and will always do so. All these other guys can do is run to try and stay within eyesight. Apple is crushing the personal computer market too, especially at the $1,000 and up level. Meanwhile HP, Dell, and all of those other PC makers are racing to the bottom. Last I looked, their balance sheets are sickly and they seem to keep laying people off. I know, they're cheaper. I guess that's all you can afford.

Am I an Apple fan? You betcha. My life has been made better year after year because of this innovative company. I can't say that about Google and Samsung. I will gladly pay a premium for great design and near-flawless implementation. But I know there will always be those who expect to spend a dime and get the value of a dollar. Guess what, haters? It doesn't work that way. So buy your cheap crap and tell yourself it's as good as an Apple product. It's like watching someone buy a Ford and boast that it's better than a BMW. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Is it nice to define oneself as "Fan of a corporation"? Aren´t those phoses and computers just things you use? Really didn´t get the point. Do you feel like a better person for using Apple´s products? A sense of loyalty towards the company, a warm feeling inside? Tell me about it, I just gor curious.

Despite your obviously elitist comments, I understand the point. Being poor myself, I've often purchased Hyundai vehicles, who like to compare their features to Mercedes and copy design from Lexus & Toyota. Obviously the overall quality is not the same as those luxury brands, but it's nice to have a semblance of luxury for a fraction of the price.
One reason I stopped buying macs after my kids were born was because although they are the best $1000+ computers on the market hands-down, I simply don't need something that good when a $500 laptop handles what I do just fine. (oh, and kids are freakin expensive!). The smartphone and tablet market - especially with carrier contract discounts - is so competitive because it's easier to splurge an extra $100 or $200 for better quality than, say, an extra $1000. I still give them props but at this time Apple seems doomed to revert to their early 2000s positon as the minority market share, primarily adopted by techies, artists, and those who just have the money. Although I applaud Apple on not diluting their quality, they have not been really price competitive in most of their history, and eventually that will make a difference. It's why Microsoft dominates the PC market and Android OS is more widespread than iOS.
Remember that in the 90's, Apple - without their late enigmatic leader - was in a similar position to HP, et al, are today: low on cash and running the rat race of mediocrity. Moreover, if the competitor catches up in quality and Apple ceases to innovate, people will stop paying the luxury premium.

"Apple INVENTED the smartphone in a market where phone manufacturers were practically giving away those crappy WAP phones, and would STILL be, if it were not for Apple. "

Nope, Nokia invented the first real Smartphone, and Microsoft Windows Mobile (and Palm OS, etc) were around long before IOS based mobile phones.

"Apple is crushing the smartphone market, and will always do so..."

I like Apple products and phones, but nothing lasts forever. I was unaware you were able to see the future!

"I know, they're cheaper. I guess that's all you can afford."

Ive seen people redeem food stamps carrying an iPhone. This statement is almost meaningless.

"My life has been made better year after year because of this innovative company. I can't say that about Google and Samsung."

Apple relied on Google maps and applications for a long time (until very recently). I hope you enjoyed using maps and navigation from your iPhone. I assume getting where you wanted to go made your life better?

Have you heard of Blackberry & Nokia phones which revolutionized phones when there was not even mobilephones or enterprise mails? Ever heard of the ranting of blackberry & nokia executives and fans when they were leagues ahead of others and used to be the most premium mobile products available in the market? I guess not.. because if you were you would not have been so blinded by apple!

Five out of Ten is way too less a rating for an iphone. The only thing I disliked being an Indian is the pricing factor. i phone cannot be beaten by any of its rival any day. Had it not been for pricing, many people would have ever bought any other phone.
Good thing is that what Apple provides works without glitch or hanging and that satisfies i phone lovers.

I am a user of some Apple devices, but I am also a user of devices made by Apple's competitor. I think it is good for the industry if there is a competition, and definetly the differences (practically, not in marketing engine) between different brands are quite small.

One thing I wish to say Apple has been amazing marketing machine, and Steve Jobs was an amazing showman and businessman. Personally I have doubt the whole smartphone/pad business - the whole business are very close to the top technically, but there are still room to expand their retail to poorer parts of the world.

The real question is: What is the next big thing after mobile computing :-)?

Surely this is the biggest blow to Apples closed ecosystem policy yet. Android, with multiple phone makers competing against each other AND the possibility of new entrants, is continually being used on phones with better hardware than iOS. These hardware makers must innovate to compete and this has produced some really unneeded features but also a much quicker adoption of new technology (How long ago did Samsung move to 4G LTE?). It seems, to me, that Android has become the windows of mobile.

Of course, with Windows 8 on the horizon, Windows may actually become the Wndows of mobile ;). W8 - even if it s not widely adopted - is the next big game changer on the horizon because it introduces more seamless integration of all your devices, incuding laptop, as well as blurring the lines between devices (I.e., tablet PCs with an OS designed to work on them, yet compatible with MS Office)

It appears Apple ha started on this road already, but their PCs continue to be a fraction of the total market ecause they're too expensive.

It seems like Apple has reached a dead end. No wonder they try to squeeze every penny out of their competitors in a legal battle. Their true innovation does not lie in an advancement of technology. It lies in an advancement of a patent trollinology.

Perhaps...although I hope they still have couple of interesting ideas up in their sleevs which are not incremental innovation like this. E.g. intenet TV has struggled so far without clear leadership and Jobs did leave the world/Apple with his vision on that. We have to see where Apple takes it...clock is ticking for apple fast.

Credit where credit is due, after being the underdog for so long, Apple did revolutionise the smartphone market (and lets not forget the music industry too). Doubters need only need to look at Nokia to see how much they were affected by iPhone’s dominance.

Its also true, other manufactures such as Samsung have narrowed the gap to Apple. As competition increases Apple should spend less time in the courtrooms and more on innovation to distinguish themselves from the competition. There really isn’t that much to distinguish the two when buying from new.

What they have done is make best use of the hardware available to reduce the screen, make it thinner and faster - all the norm as technology improves. The critical point this time there isn’t any new killer feature/app to make someone jump out or pay the high price to switch from other phones. At least the 4S had Siri.

Success - yes, Apple has a legion of fans. Those still using the iPhone 4 i.e. skipping the 4S, waiting instead for the iPhone 5 will purchase the latest incarnation. The timing is impeccable too, especially since its been about two years since the iPhone 4 launched, long enough for most mobile contracts to run out without penalties to move to a new phone.

I skipped the 4S and was excited to upgrade to the 5 on the presumption that it would, in fact, be an upgrade or a change. Now it's doubtful I will, in fact I'm more likely to test out a Samsung Galaxy S3 and keep my Iphone 4 in case I don't like it.

I'm surprised an app hasn't been created that can just transfer all your songs, pics, contacts between different types of device, if Apple tried to stop it I think it would just lead to a Microsoft-style antitrust case. Also, the apps thing is interesting; can apple really lay claim to software that the sell but don't develop? It's strange territory but I think going forward if you buy an app in the itunes and then move to android where the same app is available I shouldn't have to pay again?

Music is a different issue, and not Apple as music companies demand DRM. Jobs said way back when that DRM is a hassle and would have preferrerd to skip it. If you mean iphone apps to Andriod, won't work. It's a native app running on its stripped down OSX, not a ertazt-Java application written to a stripped down Linux.

DRM in itunes died a long time ago! Secondly, I'm talking about apps you buy that have an Android version. I think that it would be completely anticompetitive if having bought an app on my iphone 4, for example, I was able to keep this app for free when upgrading to the Iphone 5 but wasn't able to get the app for free if I decided to switch to, say, a Galaxy S3 (assuming an android version existed).

iPhone apparently holds 19% of the current market [one manufacturer], Android [from many manufacturers] keeping strong at about 65%. Once Win8 phones start appearing [many manufacturers] these percentages will change, and the market will be shared by the three main competitors with RIM probably remaining in the niche.

All this points to the likelihood of Apple sticking to its normal market share as is the case with its computer business.

The lack of NFC, micro SD, USB, interchangeable battery, HDMI is a matter of company policy which aims to have total control on how information flows in and out of their gadget.

At the end of the day the customer will decide what to buy from a huge choice of smartphones and three or four main operating systems.

iPhone 5 is basically just a bulkier iPhone 4s with some minor foregone upgrades. If I'll buy one, I'll go with the 4s which will hopefully even cost a little less now. Actually it's now cristal clear to me that they're running out of ideas, and this time there's no Steve Jobs o pull them out of the quicksand. Other companies will soon catch up and overtake them, just wait and see folks. Apple is doomed. What a pity, who knows what they could've invented if Steve were still there...

Actually the screen is only longer, but the length and width of the phone are the same....though it is thinner. You won't be needing to enlarge you pockets for the iphone5, but that cannot be said for some of the android competition where bigger phone means you will need to start carrying a man-purse, assuming you are a man.

This smart phone race is kinda like the race to the moon. When you got there, it is kinda underwhelming. Just some rocks and dust, and no air. I prefer the earth. It's the same with smart phones. I appreciate the effort, but it's no longer revolutionary.

Apple has had a great run. It revolutionized many markets, of which the smartphones and the tablet markets are only the last ones. During that run the company was able to present itself as the brand for the young, for the smart, for the cool, for the freethinker.

But I don't know that it will last. They might have started late, but there are now several companies offering quality products at lower prices.

And to be honest, I no longer like the brand. Their executives might act cool, but they are arrogant. Let's face it, this is not 1984, when they could play the underdog, as in their famous Macintosh commercial. Apple has become the "establishment".

Now, I don't necessarily have a problem with that. Apple has been very good at what it does, so it deserves its success. But it annoys me to no end to see their CEO dressed in jeans, acting as if they were landscape architects, when in truth, they adopt the same business practices that any other major corporation. Walled garden? Planned obsolesence? Regional price discrimination? Non transferrable media formats? You name it.

And lately, fighting on the courtroom, rather than at the market place? Really? I mean, really?

I have an Imac, an apple mini, an ipod classic, and ipod touch, an ipod shuffle, an iphone 4 and an ipad. I bought them, because at the time there was nothing else better. But now, there are options. I might get an Ipad mini, but I'll soon switch to a galaxy phone, and if the Surface handles MS Office well, I'll switch to that too.

Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know, Itunes is being hacked too!